Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Welcome to Ultramar."

"Welcome to Cowes."

"Dear battle brothers."

"You can look more at the sun here, look at the sun that Calth has: this world is like the sun it surrounds, rising slowly and with infinite vitality: let us wish the battle brothers gathered here, You will also have a bond that is as fiery as the sun.”

"..."

"What do you think of these sentences?"

Platus Augustus, as always, wrapped himself in the thick armor that never left his body. Guilliman's most favored field commander was biting his rough lips in distress at this moment. , trying hard to look like he was thinking hard.

"It's well written: as a welcome sign, it's enough."

"Yeah, it's just a temporary thing."

After getting a positive answer from the man next to him, a smile quickly appeared on Augustus' rough face, and he seemed to be in a hurry to end the current chore.

As the bravest warrior under the Lord of Five Hundred: at least Augustus himself thought so. He would rather face an entire highland of green-skinned orcs than paint slogans on these fragile walls, or It’s to hang up those banners that flutter in the wind.

Welcome speech? ha!

They are legion soldiers, and the visitors they want to receive are also legion soldiers: why do real soldiers need these grandiose statements floating in the sky? If it weren't for the fact that this order came from the original body himself, even if Chapter Master Gage stood in front of him and gave the order, Augustus would only dismiss these "playing house" behaviors.

But if it is the original body, then he must have his own considerations: that is not something Augustus or any of the Ultramarines are qualified to speculate on. They only need to try their best to do the original work well. Just follow every task assigned to them.

"To be honest, I don't think you Dawnbreakers will need a welcome speech. Maybe those Night Lords will like it: but in my personal impression, you Far Eastern Frontier warriors are more..."

"pragmatism?"

"Yes, almost."

Augustus grinned and smiled, suppressing the sigh in his heart. While nodding in response to the words of Morgan's son, he moved his gaze upwards in the shadows until he felt something coming from the back of his neck. A sudden sense of sourness and tingling.

"..."

The smile of the Ultramarine froze on his face, and he stood in the shadow that could completely block him. This warrior from Macragge could only look at the giant in front of him, and said in his heart Feeling.

Here's the original body, how tall is this guy? It's obvious that the last time I saw him, he wasn't this tall. It was just a few years ago, so why does he look so tall again? What does it look like?

Even if this guy isn't wearing armor, is he bigger than the Terminator veteran?

Augustus frowned. He spent less than a second thinking about the new question in his mind, and got an absolutely positive answer: However, the thinking in his mind would not hinder Guilliman. The heirs are in reality and continue to take steps forward.

While Augustus was supervising the mortal servants and smearing the welcome speech they had agreed on on the wall, he continued to chat with his fellow Dawnbreakers beside him to pass the boring time.

"Thinking about it now, it seems like a long time has passed since the last time you came to Macragge: I remember that time, you came with a regular delegation of the Second Legion, and we were still in the arena. We have sparred, and you are better than me."

"I remember that correctly, Hector?"

"Yes, maybe... five years?"

Morgan's pride hesitated.

"Besides, I didn't beat you in that duel: I just held on a little longer."

"On the battlefield, this is victory. My sword has fallen from my hand and fell to the ground, but your sword is still in my hand. Although it is broken, if you want, you can cut off my head at any time: Is there any more pure victory than this, my battle brother?"

The heir of Guilliman waved his hand, showing no interest in the old accounts from five years ago, and it seemed that he had no intention of discussing with Hector again: Compared to these, Augustus concentrated all his memory and There was a comparison between the Hector of five years ago and the even bigger giant in front of him now.

…It’s only been five years…

Augustus sighed in his heart: If his calculations were correct, according to Hector's growth curve in the past five years, in ten years at most, this Morgan's proud son may be taller than most genetically modified people. The original body will become taller and more powerful.

If only to surpass that Lord of Avalon: maybe next year.

"..."

Is this guy really not the product of some genetic mutation or cutting-edge experiment?

Augustus was pondering malicious conjectures in his heart, but Hector, who was walking side by side with him, was unaware of it: this heir of Morgan was following the long-established habits of the Dawnbreaker Legion, and naturally began to interact with him. The Ultramarines discussed a possible partnership between the Far Eastern Frontier and Ultramar.

After more than twenty years of training, Queen of Avalon's warriors are generally very sensitive to such [political issues]. This sensitivity is not to preserve the power in their hands, but because the sons of Morgan know very well: as the Far East Every move of the Dawnbreaker Legion, the de facto governing body of the Frontier, will determine the fate of countless mortals. As a member of the Second Legion, they naturally have to serve their Legion and the Far Eastern Frontier anytime and anywhere.

This kind of service can be to pay attention to the gossips of mortals about the latest policies at any time; it can also be to observe the people's livelihood situation or official corruption problems in the target world when completing the mission; or it can be like what Hector is doing now The thing: quietly spread the concept of [win-win cooperation] to the largest partner of the Dawnbreaker Legion.

According to their observations: the Ultramarines are very fond of this.

In front of Hector's rather sincere smile, even Augustus, who had no interest in these things, had to concentrate all his attention and print every word from the son of Morgan. In his mind: Although he has no interest in these red tapes, Augustus is the descendant of Guilliman after all. Their strong memory and excellent document analysis ability are their innate talents.

"I remember that I came to Macragge with the fourteenth regular delegation. You should have some impressions of that visit, Brother Augustus: it was during that state visit. Our delegation The leader of the delegation, Lord Marshall, signed the final territorial treaty with Lord Guilliman regarding the Far Eastern Frontier and the eastern border area of ​​Five Hundred Worlds, as well as the largest share of agricultural product circulation and trading licenses so far."

"...Ah, indeed."

Augustus was stunned for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. He was not interested in the details of these so-called state visits, but he still vaguely remembered: since the Queen of Avalon visited Macragge for the first time. During these twenty-five Terran standard years, there were twenty-three regular state visit teams sent to Ultramar from the Far Eastern Frontier alone, and each team was personally received by Guilliman. As well as formal receptions and banquets, the number of teams sent by Ultramar to the Far Eastern Frontier was even greater.

This does not count those large-scale exchange activities that are semi-official or entirely run by civilian organizations: countless treaties and memorandums were signed in this kind of exchange, just to store these written documents, Guilliman was there Next to the Hera Fortress, a highly confidential Legion Library was built. Even confidants like Augustus did not have permission to read most of the contents in the library.

It can be said that in the current political sector of the Human Empire, there is no closer combination than Avalon and Macragge: the most intuitive manifestation of this closeness is that in Macragge’s compulsory education college, the new generation The course "Low Gothic with Avalon style" is already included in the students' textbooks, and it is said that it is a required course.

"I have received about twenty official visiting teams with Lord Guilliman. Thanks to the primarch's trust, I have always been the chief security officer at such large-scale public gatherings: the remaining few times were because I was on overseas assignments. Task.

"Among these visiting teams, the one who impressed me the most was Lord Ahriman. His name was on the list of many visits. I remember about eleven or two times: he always participated in the games between the two legions, The highest-level psionic seminar conference, and I will appear as the most important guest, on the same level as the original body."

"But in addition, he also left many names of his own in Macragge's arena, even parallel to his reputation in the field of psychic energy: in my personal impression, Thirteenth Among the legions, only Captain Gage and Captain Orfeo can defeat Ahriman in battle.”

"It is said that Ahriman's martial name has even spread to legions such as the Imperial Fists or Warhounds, and even the Luna Wolves: Abaddon, who is most trusted by the Wolf Shepherd God, highly respects Ahriman's martial arts. , He even boasted about it in front of Saint Les."

When he mentioned words such as [Competition], [Primary Body] and [Duel], Augustus' pupils glowed with great excitement.

But soon, he shook his head again.

"But it's a pity: I have never had the opportunity to compete with such a person in the arena. After all, His Excellency Ahriman's schedule is always very full. It is only the think tank of the Thirteenth Legion that wants to consult with him. , the number is enough to reach four figures.”

Four digits...

Hector's eyes narrowed, and his smile was hidden in the haze cast by his short silver hair.

He spoke.

"In other words, every time Lord Ahriman comes to Macragge, he is surrounded by all the think tanks of the Ultramarines Legion? No wonder his evaluation of the Ultramar sector is "painful and happy". "

"Not that everything is."

Augustus rubbed his head.

"Hmm...most of it."

"I remember that the number of think tanks among the Ultramarines did not exceed 10,000, but it was not much different: it was said that when Lord Ahriman gave his last psychic lecture, more than 4,000 think tanks attended the lecture. They said That’s half of the total number of people in the Legion’s think tank.”

"..."

Hector gasped, trying to sound normal.

"Eight Thousand Think Tank?"

"Maybe."

"Is that... too much?"

"……many?"

Faced with the confusion of the Ultramarines, Hector had to organize his words.

"What I mean is: the Ultramarines are not the Astartes Legion that specializes in think tanks like the Thousand Sons Legion. Too many think tanks is not entirely a good thing for your overall strategy."

"It makes sense."

Augustus laughed.

"But don't worry, brother: not all of these eight thousand think tanks are full-time psychic warriors, many are part-time warriors, and their number barely exceeds 100% of the current Thirteenth Legion. Just five.”

Five percent...

"..."

Hector remained silent, quietly wiping the sweat from his ears.

"Are you expanding your army again?"

"Expanded a little bit."

Having said this, Augustus raised his head proudly.

"According to statistics not long ago, we have about 150,000 troops. The original body has said that we will not expand the army on a large scale in the future. Too bloated troops is not a good thing. For the current five hundred worlds, the expansion of the army to Around 250,000 people are probably enough.”

"...It's best..."

"What?"

"Ahem...it's nothing."

Hecht coughed and decided not to discuss the issue any further: any question about numbers gave the Dawnbreaker a subtle, self-defeating feeling.

"Let's... let's talk about Ahriman."

"Can."

Augustus nodded, and his pupils lit up again.

"Hector, you just said: Lord Ahriman is also in the visiting team?"

"Yes."

Dawnbreaker nodded.

"After all, this is the visit of our Genetic Mother: Regarding cooperation issues regarding the Far Eastern Frontier and the Five Hundred Worlds, what could be more authoritative than a face-to-face meeting between two Primarchs?"

“Believe me, Augustus: the number of documents signed during this visit will exceed the sum of the more than twenty previous state visits. Maybe your genetic father will build a new library. "

"And in these documents, there will obviously be content about psychic powers, so Ahriman will naturally stand by the side of our genetic mother as her advisor on psychic powers."

"That's it..."

Augustus nodded, looking a little disappointed.

"You mean, Lord Ahriman may be very busy this time, so busy that he has no time to step into Macragge's arena?"

"That's not necessarily the case."

Hector touched his chin.

"As far as I know, all the issues related to spiritualism are just a small and unimportant element of this state visit. You and my Primarch have more important things to talk about, so His Excellency Ahriman's itinerary, Maybe it’s really not as rushed as the previous times.”

"What do the Primarchs want to talk about?"

"Well……"

Hector paused, thinking hard about the word he heard before: before officially setting off, Morgan had discussed the proposal she was about to bring to Guilliman with her confidant captains, but Hector was not convinced The memories of these motions are not long.

"I heard them say..."

"Seems to be……"

"Um……"

"..."

"Far Eastern Customs Union?"